Longmont's Village at the Peaks celebrates its grand opening

Waitress Jenna Chavez takes an order from Michael Mor and his wife Cindy Mor during lunch Wednesday at Parry's Pizzeria & Bar in Village at the Peaks Wednesday. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

Village at the Peaks grand opening week

Monday, June 27

Longmont-based artist Jess Parrish will construct a 20-ton National Parks-themed sand sculpture. The sculpture will be built over four days and will feature a "tips & tricks" hour daily at 1 p.m.

Thursday, June 30

Sam's Club will open its doors at 8 a.m. It is the 25th retailer to open on the property.

Friday, July 1

The property will host a tile wall unveiling with tiles painted by the Timberline and Rocky Mountain Elementary School classes of "I Have a Dream" Dreamers.

The property will host a ribbon cutting event with city officials, The Longmont Chamber of Commerce and other special guests. Festivities begin at 2:30 p.m.

A car passes under the Village at the Peaks sign Wednesday. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

Saturday, July 2

A live music lineup runs from 2 to 9 p.m. featuring Girls on Top, Johnny O, Dotsero and ending with Tunisia.

Sunday, July 3

Visitors can test their athleticism on an American Ninja Warrior-style course and meet members of the Wolfpack throughout the day. Event takes place 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Monday, July 4

The day starts with a Patriotic Pet Parade sponsored by Chuck & Don's and the Wyatt's Wet Goods Car Show at 10 a.m. and continues into the afternoon. The celebration concludes with live music starting at 5 p.m. and running until 9 p.m. with Rapid Grass and Steve Manshell.

The community is invited to view the fireworks from the property following the live music.

When Longmont's Village at the Peaks kicks off its seven-day grand opening celebration Monday, it will be the culmination of a nearly seven-year process to develop the site that included efforts from several city departments, community residents and developer NewMark Merrill who poured their time, money and sweat into the project.

Greyson Pierce, 1, plays while visiting Village at the Peaks Wednesday with his mom and dad Ashley and Eric Pierce. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

Allen Ginsborg, the principal and managing director of the mountain states for NewMark and a 34-year veteran of shopping center development, led much of the effort to redevelop the mall, even moving his family to town to be closer to the project.

"This community has really been a great place for us to be involved," said Ginsborg. "I couldn't have done enough homework to discover what I have now that I live here. "

Ginsborg, a former resident of Fort Collins, previously developed Longmont's Home Depot in the '90s, so he was familiar with the city's retail market. He and other NewMark partners saw great potential in the site of the blighted Twin Peaks Mall, which fell to a 50 percent vacancy rating by the time NewMark took over management in October 2010.

Opened in 1985 and renovated twice — once in the mid-'90s and again 10 years later — Twin Peaks saw a rash of closings during the Great Recession, including anchors J.C. Penney and the southern Dillard's location.

In 2011, the mall went into foreclosure, with owners Panattoni Development Co., of Sacramento, owing Bank of America nearly $26.5 million dollars. Panattoni paid $33.6 million for the mall in 2007.

They're also hoping for a "catalyst effect" from the redevelopment, said redevelopment manager David Starnes.

"We hope that because of Village at the Peaks that there is renewed or stronger interest" in redeveloping other sites around town, such as the old Walmart or the sugar mill, Starnes said.

"I think the developer did something wonderful to create something new to something that could have been vacant for a long time."

Village at the Peaks broke ground on August 1, 2014. Today, it is around 90 percent leased with 36 retailers committed. When Walmart-owned wholesale retailer Sam's Club opens on June 30, it will be the 25th retailer to do so.

The process was not without its bumps. From the very start, signing up merchants was a challenge.

"We started off in a recession when retail was in big trouble," said Ginsborg. "Target was closing stores, Sam's Club and Walmart are still closing stores."

Sam's Club and Whole Foods didn't cancel plans for their anchor spots at the Village, but they did delay them — causing the city to dip into property tax revenues in order to make a $636,227 interest payment on the certificates it issued for the project.

Adding to the troubles, Sports Authority declared bankruptcy in March and then a complete liquidation in April. The Village at the Peaks store will by closed by the end of August, depending on how quickly inventory is moved.

City Finance Director Jim Golden said tax revenue projections shouldn't be affected, and Ginsborg said the Sports Authority should be done selling the Village at the Peak lease by the end of the month.

"Next month, we will hear from the court whether the leases have been sold to someone else or that they have not been sold," Ginsborg said. "If they are not sold, the court will terminate the lease and we will continue to market them."

Despite the setbacks, the project for the most part met the "aspirations" of Longmont's residents, according to Ginsborg. NewMark polled 10,000 respondents and held a handful of community meetings.

The major desires for a shopping center?

"A movie theater, a natural grocer and a discount club," Ginsborg reported. "I'm grateful we were able to deliver those things."

"We probably got 1,100 malls in America," Davidowitz said. "Four hundred are very good, 200 are fair and the rest of them are in real trouble."

The ones that are doing well, he said, are the ones catering to the country's "top 10 percent" and those providing "entertainment and experience" for shoppers.

That's exactly what Ginsborg has tried to do with Village at the Peaks, hosting charity and community events and providing common spaces like fountains and fireplaces that encourage people to gather.

"None of that was prescribed by city code; that was something we chose to do. It's rewarding to know that our retailers are successful here and doing well, but it's more so to see families having a good time," he said.

Now, with a week of grand opening events ahead of him, Ginsborg is hoping to take a break from the work and join in those good times himself.

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